


Shaking Away the Cobwebs

by ilyena_sylph, Merfilly



Series: DreamVerse [6]
Category: DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Animated Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-31
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-15 14:41:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2232762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilyena_sylph/pseuds/ilyena_sylph, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Titans and YJ have been busy, which makes the foe try to adjust the game board once more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shaking Away the Cobwebs

It seemed like no sooner had they gotten Officer Grayson 'killed' and focused on finishing his work in the Haven as Nightwing, than a full Titans' alert was issued. Dinah was in the Tower when it hit, and offered her aid, which Roy silently dared anyone to refuse. Slade was already tying on his mask, having acquired a staff since he was in residence with the kids.

"Sister," Slade warned as Vic came across the speakers to say that there were energy anomalies at the site as everyone raced for the largest jet.

"I'll steer clear. Not in the mood to dodge dinosaurs, though it might be good to punch Querl Dox in the face on general purposes." She rolled her eyes at the Brainiac of the future. 

"I hear stories there," Nightwing half-said, half-asked as they bolted for the jet, "though I'm totally agreeing with that last bit." 

"Dinosaurs, Di?" Roy asked at almost the same moment. Slade snorted, but Dinah laughed.

"Boy-o, my time in the future all falls during that relationship you don't like to hear about," she teased him. "And one of the dinosaur trips is how Slade managed to really get on my radar."

"It was a fun trip," Slade rumbled even as they were settling on the jet.

Roy half-glared, half-growled, but he didn't say anything, busying himself with checking over his gear. He would never understand her fling with The Ray. If she wanted to go young, why hadn't she… well, whatever. She was with Wilson now.

"Dinosaurs," Dick said, shaking his head. "I mean, yeah, B's got the 'Rex in the Cave, _but_!" 

"Kid, that little bird is a magnet for the strange and unusual," Slade told him.

"You should know," Dinah said sweetly, making Gar whoop with laughter.

Dick snickered too, grinning as he called "She's gotcha there," over at Slade, before looking up towards the cockpit. "Cyborg, what've we got other than energy readings?" 

"At least five moving combatants, police cars flipped, possible sixth, but my satellite coverage is grainy. Haven't managed to ID anyone on the scene yet." Vic sighed, showing his frustration. "It's like they picked the only small bus stop town in easy reach that falls between two sats."

Dinah's skin prickled at that, her nerves going from keyed up to strung tight as she caught her lover's eye.

Nightwing tensed, his fingers tapping on his thigh for a moment. "I smell a trap -- maybe I'm paranoid, but." 

"Kid if you weren't right now I'd be worried," Slade rumbled, his fingers flicking across the staff thoughtfully. 

"Hopefully our mystery guests won't be briefed for me to be there. With luck, they don't know you West Coasters came in," Dinah said, calming into fully professional mode. "So, there's that."

"Point…" Roy said. "'Wing, how about we hold with me, you, Troia, and Argent… then the others come on hard and strong behind? Keep Wilson and Changeling in the pocket, plus Cyborg and BC for back-up?"

"That sounds solid to me… especially as numbers are in our favor, even if there are six," Troia told Nightwing, but it was his call.

Nightwing nodded after a few moments thought, flicking that through his mind. It sounded like the best use of what they had. "Sounds solid." 

Slade nodded, agreeing to wait in reserves, before handing over two disk explosives to Harper. "Put those somewhere for maximum effect in case we need to fall back; she triggers them."

"That's how you've been… cool." He had to concede that was a hell of a way to handle demolitions.

"Specific pitch, so don't worry I'll set them off accidentally." Dinah grinned. "His armorer gives me nifty toys. And complains. Because I'm tiny."

"Di, everyone that's ever made a costume for you complains," Roy pointed out, his fingers flicking over the disks again before he tucked them away. 

"Almost there, people," Vic called out, eyes flicking across the scene below. 

Slade carefully did not say that he wished she was in his gear… this was a hero side run, so it made sense for her to be in her colors. He just wished she had more damn sense on how to protect her body!

"Stop it," she told him, not even looking back that way from where she was adjusting her gloves. "I've got the coat; it's more than enough extra protection."

"It's so totally freaky when you two do that," Gar said, even as the jet came in for the action. Donna grabbed Dick, while Toni had Roy this time; they wanted their tank protecting Nightwing as much as possible until they were sure the Crisis was gone.

He snorted at her, but settled to wait, while the kids dropped down onto the scene. Logan had a point though; they were scarily in tune with each other's thoughts.

Nightwing's eyes flashed over the scene. Black and orange forms, broad-shouldered and bizarrely slim-waisted, masculine, but -- "Hey Cyborg, are there people in those?" 

They were almost too identical to be human, but then, there were Batsuits that nearly let him pass for Bruce. A lot could be done with the right kinds of armor, and the light reflecting off these said it was rigid material. Two outside were toying with the local police from their flipped vehicles, three others had made it inside the bank --

Oh yeah. This was absolutely a setup, but that didn't mean there weren't people in danger. 

"Can't get a solid scan on them, Nightwing," Cyborg growled at him. "The armor is dispersing every scan I can come up with."

"Then we proceed as if they are human," Troia said, looking at her partner in this action for confirmation. "We can't take the risk."

Nightwing nodded. "See if you can't get a mask off, Troia, Argent, so we know what we're up against, but yeah. Until then, we go at it like they're human." 

They hit the ground and he flicked a wing-ding at the nearest of them. The way that one reacted on cue to his toss was eerie, especially as the one Troia targeted seemed to be fighting in a cautious, guarded pattern, trying to learn her blows.

Arsenal was firing even as he stepped off Argent's platform to fall the last couple of meters, and the one he'd aimed for dodged just as easily. Argent went for a different one, her power reaching out for the head. As soon as her target noted that, it kicked up its speed, throwing debris rapidly to make her shield and lose focus.

It _kept_ being like that, their opponents uncertain of Troia, but _too_ damned good at predicting him, Arsenal... even Argent, which was really confusing. How could they be having so much trouble with Troia, but know one of their younger members so well?! And they were fast, dangerous, and **crafty** , too. This was _not_ fun, he grumbled to himself as he traded blows with one of the things. 

Above, still in the jet, Slade growled. He had a good view of the fight via the screen in the rear, and the way those fighters were reacting smacked of conditioning or programming down to the core, for fighting Titans. 

But not Troia, and wasn't that odd when she'd helped found the team?

"Fifth one coming back out of the building," Gar noted, flicking to a hawk form. "How long do we wait?"

"Almost positive there's a sixth now, based on metal readings. Isotope in that armor is not native," Vic called back. "The sixth is still hidden somewhere, maybe inside, or just over by those two trashed cop cars; it's hard to pinpoint."

Dinah breathed out a hiss, watching the same things, worried about her boy-o -- Arsenal was good, but these things were reacting to him almost too fast, closing in on him and harrying him while he couldn't get a good draw on them. Nightwing was keeping up with the one he was tangled with mostly by dint of his escrima sticks -- they had single staves, and the paired seemed to be throwing them. Troia seemed to be having the easiest time, but she was holding back because she was concerned about their status... 

"Cyborg, autopilot at a height I can jump from, chuteless. Changeling, take him down," Slade said, keeping his voice level. Something here had the hair on the back of his neck up. "Sister, trust me to be your drop?"

"Of course, Slade," she said as she guessed his intent. Six Titans, six foes… and the two of them least likely to be accounted for by whomever had set these things on the kids. 

"Trust you to find a woman as crazy as you, man," Vic said as he set for a circling cruise altitude that he was certain Wilson could handle… and he hoped the shielding held up if one of those strangers shot up at it.

"I think you've got that backwards," Black Canary said cheerfully as she let Slade get hold of her for that drop. 

"C'mon, rustbucket," Changeling said as he flew towards the open ramp. Hawk until he was outside, then hover as a roc so Vic had a ride to the ground, and then see how he could best help tackle these things. 

Slade waited, letting the pair get out, then looked to see how it adjusted the fight. The one that had come out of the building moved toward evasion tactics… for long-range weaponry, and Stone wasn't powering the cannon up. That threw the fifth metal fighter off more than long enough for Logan to drop on him in kraken form to try and hold him down long enough for Stone to figure out what they were facing.

"Thought Stone would go for range," Slade mused. "And wasn't prepared for the tag-team effect."

Changeling wrapped tentacles all around the figure, using all of the great squid's hooked suckersto grab on hard, and all of its' strength to _keep_ that hold, plate-sized eyes close against his target's spine. Cyborg balled one fist and hit hard at the jaw, aiming to stun, and then investigated further. 

"Pull the kid-gloves, Troia… it's a 'bot!" Vic rang out as he managed to get through a seam in the armor to reveal an endoskeleton of metal and circuitry in the face. 

"Can we be sure of all five?" Roy demanded, remembering an incident with Starfire and a human in 'bot disguise that had landed half the team in jail.

"Trying to calibrate and get a read, but mass is near identical in all five I can see!" Vic yelled back.

Troia glanced at the wounded cops, decided that charges on a broken wrist were probably worth it, and exerted herself. It took a hell of a wrench, far more than it would take to make any human scream in agony, but the hand snapped off with a crackle of circuitry. "Two!" 

"Alright then!" was Nightwing's half-exultant, half-infuriated shout as he stepped up his game. He was really tired of attack-robots, even if these didn't look like Brainiac's work. 

"I can break this thing?" Argent asked, really tired of having to dodge and shield instead of attacking. 

"Go for it," came from Roy even as he dodged at a completely different angle than his instincts wanted him to go… and the bot failed to compensate. It threw them both off rhythm, but Roy didn't need long to get a shot fired toward the one Argent was dealing with.

Dinah sucked in a breath as the 'bot her Boy-o had been facing corrected faster than he could bring his aim back, but Roy was quicker than he looked and dodging again, trying to get enough distance to get a good shot back on his own target.

Changeling tightened those tentacles more, then -- once he was sure Cyborg had this one down -- he went to hummingbird and flew towards Arsenal, calling. "Hathi, comin' through!" the moment before he went to elephant and charged. 

Arsenal ducked and rolled, coming back up ready to fire… but the 'bot had not counted on an elephant that charged… and then stayed to stomp, apparently.

Then Argent got her liquid silver speared right through the one she was facing, and only Slade could see fast enough, from on high, the catastrophe that was.

"ALL DOWN!" he roared, knowing it would be too late, that maybe only Troia could react fast enough as the 'bot proved to be as much a bomb as a foe. He didn't have to warn Dinah; they were in motion with her coat as a layer of protection between her skin and any shrapnel still flying once they landed.

Arsenal took hits from pieces of shrapnel, but the promethium armor he'd hauled back out held -- that looked like surprise on the 'bot as he didn't go down bleeding -- and he went for glue arrows. If these things were gonna explode, time to stick their damned pieces together. 

Nightwing had dropped as soon as he heard Slade's bellow, but that wasn't fast enough to get him down before pieces of shrapnel tore across his back and side, slicing clear through the armor... but not deep, not too bad. He just needed to get clear... 

Argent had reacted on pure startle reflex, throwing the silver up as a shield, but she was already inside the blast radius, taking several hits that hurt, even if they didn't threaten her ability to fight. Troia had dropped down, but even she came up with a small cut from a jagged piece of the metal. Cyborg fared better, being farther away from it, and he dialed up the sonic cannon then, ready to shake these things out of function. He ran a quick appraisal, letting the tactical computer part of his processors take over.

Changeling had taken a lot of the impact, not quite getting his mass down fast enough. Arsenal could guard him, but with Wilson incoming, it made more sense for Cyborg to hightail it over to play medic. He refocused them, keeping the sonic cannon half-powered as he moved to his best friend.

Slade, having seen that arm coming up, then watched it go back down, was relieved. Everything he'd observed said the cannon would have been prepared for. Dinah launched out of his grip nearly at the ground, tucking for her landing roll. Then the 'bots still able to refocused, trying to fall back in as a unit to focus on Slade.

Arsenal caught the movement, //They're all going for Wilson? The hell?// while he got arrows off as fast as he could to try and disrupt that gathering. Vic and Gar had taken one out. The one Troia had taken a hand off of was regrouping against Wilson, Argent's -- well, it was all over the place -- and the one he'd first tangled with was a mass of sparking armor from where Changeling had stomped it flat. How hadn't _it_ exploded? Wilson could probably handle two of the things, especially since the one 'Wing had been fighting with was dragging one leg, but still. 

Nightwing had breathed a moment's sigh of relief when the 'bot he was tangling with pulled back, giving him enough time to slap pressure bandages over the worst of his own wounds. "Argent, more of 'em are gonna pull that, shield the civilians!" 

"Don't target center mass," was Cyborg's call to Wilson and BC, having analyzed what he had seen of both 'bots that had gone down. It was a guess, but it was better than nothing. He was sliding in against the ground where Changeling had dropped to boy, not able to call up a better form when he'd been caught mid-shift. "Easy, salad breath, let me get some patches on you," he said in a far quieter voice, while Argent brought up a dome between them and the civilians, with it open at the top.

The pair of 'bots stopped just out of melee range, one tracking the woman, and Slade heard the click-hiss release of catches in the armor a heartbeat before there was a cacophony of noise and multi-colored strobing lights reflecting everywhere inside the domed space Argent had created.

Even their photoreactive lenses didn't transition fast enough to completely protect Nightwing and Deathstroke from the assault, while the cacophony reduced Troia to screaming with her ears covered. Arsenal hit the deck, his eyes all afterimages and the sounds tearing through his ears. Argent screamed too -- and, thankfully, the dome shattered into nothing, dispersing the sound. Cyborg shut down his light and sound sensors after a single breath of exposure, and he spun his cannon up to punch off bolts at each of the damned things, trying to buy Wilson time to recover, while his other hand cupped down over Changeling's ear as best he could. 

Gar whimpered and cringed, trying to shift to something less affected but his muscles just couldn't take the stretch and tear any more. Black Canary added to the noise, her hands coming up to her own ears, but years of dealing with her own power gave her some immunity to the noise… if not the lights. She threw her voice toward Slade's trouble, knowing damn well her lover's super senses were his liability right now.

//Rather face Vertigo,// she thought, even as tears streamed from her eyes. She'd gone as low-pitch as she could, more push than destroy, but it caught the pair of 'bots between two different waved sonics.

Deathstroke knew the sixth was likely to move, that the lights and sound had been meant for him, to disable him, and he could not track by sight or sound. Smell failed him; Logan and the Kid had bled, and the bloodscent was obscuring his ability to track new metals instead. He had to move, had to go on blind instinct for a moment as his brain tried to process past the attack.

The world was spinning, fire all through his chest… and then it was just black.

"SLADE!" Dinah screamed, Cry still in her voice but ramped higher, more deadly, even though she did not -- could not -- see him fall. It was just like Columbia, when her brain registered he was dead before the impact of his body. Some day, they would learn why. Right now, she just reacted.

Dick's eyes hurt, his ears could barely process the cacophony, but he heard Canary scream, knew -- *knew* -- that Slade was down, down and dead, and -- 

No. just. NO. Donna/Kon/Amy/Jack/Steph/the 'Haven/Ted/Terra/Pantha -- 

He knew where those things had been, and he reached for razored wing-dings, aiming for the flashes of light he was still getting through his near-blackout lenses before he flung himself into motion towards where Slade had gone down. 

Where Gar was, with Vic trying to get patches over the worst of the shrapnel cuts by feel, neither pain nor exhaustion could keep the small Titan from shifting this time, going to the feline closest to his true size. His friend had gone down, had to have, because there was just something in the Canary's scream that chilled every part of the green Titan.

Not really hearing anything, Canary recognized that the shot that had taken her partner, her mate down, had to have come from the squad cars. She wasn't certain why, other than knowing the angle from the building would have been hard even for her boy-o, and the dome had been there for long enough to make it impossible. Or had it? She didn't care; she was in motion toward where the sixth assailant had to be, full Bird of Prey in flight. She couldn't see clearly yet, couldn't hear much more… but she was the student of some of the greatest fighters in the world, and Slade had been honing her.

Nightwing saw the wing-dings hit the dark-outlined forms a few seconds before _he_ hit them, vaulting over one to kick it in the mid-spine, angling the hit to send it into the other one -- and away from Slade. Away from Slade. His instincts were screaming that this was an attempt to take Slade not just down, but _away_ , and that was **not** happening. He followed the 'bots, all of his usual restraint on his strength gone. 

Changeling made it, by scent, to his other best friend, the one that was currently not moving. Blood scent high right at the chest, but not on the ground. Armor-puncher, the kind that made swiss cheese inside the torso rather than come out again, he thought, remembering unpleasant talks with Wintergreen on how to stop Slade if it ever needed to happen. Now, with two fighters more able, moving already, the clouded leopard took up guard over the fallen man, a worried growl mixing with the hunting purr as he stood there.

The sixth assailant had not expected a rally or attack, especially when a bone-numbing Canary Cry shoved much of the cover afforded by the two squad cars away from him, leaving him exposed. This fighter was no child, no untried vigilante stepping out of the shadows of Gotham. This was a banshee, wreaking havoc and fury in fists, feet, and voice. The assailant was having to cycle through his possible responses swiftly, and then he could only defend himself.

The 'bots did not stand a chance against Nightwing unleashed. As solid as that armor was, he was a highly trained fighter, and had already been cataloguing the weak points. And he wasn't alone. Troia was back up, and she flung herself in against one, bearing it to the ground to finish rendering it useless. 

Argent was still half-collapsed, trying to gather her wits and her powers -- and that Canary Cry wasn't actually helping her with that, not with the way it pushed at the air. She rubbed at her eyes, blinking away the after-images, and decided that going to help Changeling -- if she could -- was her best option. She moved over towards him, making _certain_ that the leopard saw her coming. "Hey... we need to get him out of here, right?" 

"Mrowl…. yes," Changeling said, though he did not feel right allowing that to take place. Argent wasn't _Slade's_. He looked uncertainly toward Cyborg, who was regrouping with Arsenal to check on the civilians. Neither one of them had needed to look twice to know the 'bots were doomed, and Canary's voice was making walking into that tangled mess of a fight impossible. Arsenal did wind up drawing down in that direction, waiting, in case he got a clear shot in the midst of a fight that was moving too fast for his eye to safely track.

"Easy to carry you both," she said to those half-flattened ears, cocking her head to the side a little. "Think it's the only way I can help, right now." 

"Let her take you both back to the safe room, Green Genes," Cyborg called over to him.

The last robot had just dropped under Nightwing's sticks -- and at Cyborg's words, he whirled towards Changeling and --

Argent, that was Argent, teammate, Toni wouldn't -- and Gar wouldn't let her even if she would. Slade wasn't safe here, no one was safe if he came back here, but the thought of Slade being away from Dick, even to get him safe, had fear and panic stabbing through the adrenaline still surging in his veins. 

"Nightwing?" Donna questioned, close enough to know that her best male friend, her brother in so many ways, was not riding too close to sanity right now. She was still over the other 'bot, having beaten it down to dismantle it… and the similarity to the dream was so striking.

He bit down on the scream of 'Get off that thing!' that wanted to rip its way out of his throat, his hands shaking a little on his sticks. " -- this was all aimed at Slade, at taking him -- can't lose him, can't lose you Donna-girl -- " 

"Not going to," Donna promised Dick as she moved, going to him, helping him up. "Changeling's in bad shape; see if Argent can take you with them?" She did not like the sound of that, of his insecurity around her, around Slade. Better to get him off the battlefield.

"Yeah," he agreed, leaning into her -- //real, safe, not badly hurt, not fallen// -- to get over to Argent and Changeling quicker. "Carry one more, Argent?" 

"Not a problem," Argent said, holding her voice steady despite the way he'd spun around at her, and she made a platform under all three of them. Well, four, but Troia could step off any time. She glanced towards where the fight was still going -- and she couldn't even half-track what was happening. 

"I'll bring them home," Cyborg said to them all, watching that fight, watching the way Arsenal was mostly vibrating like he was pulled too tight by seeing the fight. "That's no 'bot she's fighting, unless it's an Amazo."

"Hera, no!" Donna said with a shudder, having heard of those.

"See you then," Argent said, lifting up off the ground to head towards the Tower. 

Nightwing dropped down into a crouch next to Changeling, carefully flicking the lenses back to look down at his friend -- the one still living and not slightly nauseating to look at. He knew Slade would get back up, he knew it, but that didn't make this easy. And Gar, Gar was hurt too. He had bandages on his fur, but shifting forms when he was hurt was never easy on him. "Any of those need more treatment?" 

"About as much as yours do." 

"Both of you get treated by me while we wait for him to get back up," Donna told them in the bossy-mom tone she used when she expected someone to argue with her.

"Gotta get him out of his gear," Gar said sulkily at that. "Bullet's still in him."

"Argent, hon… can you find the bullet?" Donna asked as they went. 

"Maybe? Once we're down, I'll try." She looked queasy at the thought.

"All we can do… he can't heal fully if we don't, though." Donna then looked at Dick. "You okay, 'Wing? We've got him safe, and the three we left there are finishing that fight."

He glanced past Donna at Argent and shrugged one shoulder a little. "Pissed off that even knowing it was a trap we still got hammered like that. Little shaky, but I'm alright." 

He wasn't, and he knew it, but Argent didn't need to hear that. He'd be fine once Slade was up again. He'd be fine. 

"Yes, well, we thought it was a trap for us." Donna didn't think it was good that Dick was keeping so much back; the younger team knew things were tense and screwed up right now. "We still handled it, and he'll be fine."

"Yeah… he will. Hopefully the Tower can handle him… but did I hear Garth saw him down in Buenos Aires? Maybe he's gotten better, because nothing exploded there," Gar offered, realizing Dick needed solid support, even if his head was swimming.

"Garth did, and... maybe," Nightwing answered, letting out a slow breath. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe... The flashbacks were still flickering behind his eyes, things that hadn't happened and weren't going to, but still felt so real. And Slade going down like that, targeted by something they didn't recognize at all... that wasn't giving him any ability to deal. He'd been so sure, _so_ sure that this was a try to take Slade away.... 

++++

At the remnant of the fight, Roy realized that the intensity was not likely to allow a non-lethal blow on either side, and he glanced nervously at Vic. He did not want to have to deal with the wrong kind of moral high-horse; Vic wouldn't do that to him, right?

And then a snap that echoed rolled out. Both fighters collapsed, one in an unnatural line, and the other on her knees, struggling to find the reserves to keep conscious. She'd burned through so much energy to fight at that level, and the world was spinning all around her.

"What're you lookin' at me for?" Vic asked before he started towards their downed trouble and the nearly-down little hero woman. "Man, I did _not_ know she could fight like that," he added in an undertone. **Nightwing** didn't fight like that, and he was the best they had. 

"No reason," Roy said, keeping pace with Vic. //Just worried. She's … dangerous. Knew that. Seeing's worse, though.// "Canary, it's me and Cyborg," he called, prudently, before he stepped in range of the small hero. He looked out and saw the cops had marshalled up to get the civilian injuries to aid now. "At least the locals aren't giving us static," he said in a low voice. 

Dinah heard the voice //not Slade's, where is Slade...// and brought her eyes around to see the blurred image of her Boy-o. "I…"

"Shh, BC," he said softly. She didn't need to explain to him; the fighter hadn't left her any room for non-lethal.

She blinked at him, trying to pull him into full focus, and then something about the body yanked her head around. She stared at the glowing sigils -- purple/black and nothing she could read -- appearing across the body, and turned pale. "..um, Boy-o..." 

"Move," Vic urged, and Roy did, pulling Dinah away from that. It looked familiar to Roy, but Vic was the one cursing in binary. "That's one of the witch's languages," he said for explanation. 

"Oh, damn," Roy said as he kept an arm around Dinah; he could feel the tremble of muscle exhaustion in her.

"Shit," Dinah murmured, and she dug down into her pockets for her phone, punching Jason's Blood's number. It rang, and rang, and she started muttering threats at the phone in between 'pick up'. Magic meant trouble right now, and there was one man she trusted to not yell at her for killing someone.

"I can feel you projecting harm my way, Dinah," Jason Blood said when he did pick up. 

Vic looked at the battle field, and made a call to Checkmate, because he was not staying to clean up. Let them be useful for once. He stepped away a bit to handle that call, but kept his cannon on standby and aimed toward the body.

"Need you to come to me, Trigon's misbehaving again," she said, too tired and worn -- and frightened -- to even attempt denying that she'd been muttering imprecations. 

"Bloody…"

The sound on the other end of the phone cut off, before an incoming teleport made the pressure change around them.

"Woman, if you ever do that again, I shall have to rectify your sense of appropriate language where my other half is concerned," Jason Blood railed at Dinah in person, before he took note of the body. "Ahh, what's this? A true golem?" He moved over to investigate it, leaving aside his irritation for the fact Etrigan had insisted they teleport right then.

"You should sit down," Roy said softly in Di's ear. "Before you fall down… he's here, he can deal."

She glared in Jason's direction, but she did let Roy convince her to sit down nearby. "I didn't have time for you to argue with me," she replied at Jason, "and I have no idea what it is. That's why I called you." 

"Well, it doesn't belong here. Why, oh why, are there dimensional breakdowns? Hmm, I wonder if this is why Madame Xanadu was trying to reach me earlier this week." Jason poked it, prodding at the mask until it released… and then he made a noise. "That face is familiar, a bit of a nuisance."

"Oh no you don't," Vic said heatedly, dropping his phone from his mouth. "We know where our pain in the neck is; that tried…" He was not letting Wilson take any potential heat over this; they did not need a new frame-up or chase putting Deathstroke back as 'enemy'.

"Did," Roy muttered.

"...to kill ours. So we want to know what it is and why."

"I don't interrogate the dead. What, however, is that it is a golem, crafted by a splinter of Trigon, inhabited by a very dead soul… and the merger between the two was forced, not finally sealed by the creator," Jason said equitably.

"Lots of undead, then?" Dinah said, checking. She didn't actually object to having killed it even if it wasn't, but this would be much less messy if Jason confirmed that it most definitely hadn't had a right to be here at all. Between the 'dimensional breakdowns' and 'Trigon!splinter' and 'golem' and 'dead soul', she was fairly certain of his response. "...Xanadu was -- well, she would be a good one. You definitely want to go talk to her, Jason." 

"It is indubitably undead… and should be sent away to face justice of the hellish sort," Jason said, before invoking a fire spell to destroy the thing. He then looked over at Dinah, frowning. "What have you done to yourself? You reek!" he complained, as Etrigan rumbled inside and tested at his leash.

"What do you mean, I reek?!" Dinah demanded with as much indignation as she could manage, as tired as she was, her hands planting on her hips. "And I haven't done anything!" 

"Your signature is stronger than ever, and edged in darkness," Jason said. "Enough! You've stirred _him_ too much." With that, Jason was gone, ignoring any attempt for more information.

"No wonder Nightwing doesn't care to have to work with him," Roy said. "Checkmate coming?" he asked Vic. He didn't want to poke at what Jason meant about his Di just now. Too many other things had his attention.

"Yeah, and they'll handle the locals," Vic said as he remote-piloted the jet down to them.

"Okay," DInah said, breathing out a relieved sigh before she reached up for Roy's hand to get herself back on her feet. "What on earth did he mean?" she muttered to herself, shaking her head. "Hmm ...has he not seen me since the Lazarus Pit?" 

"I dunno, Canary, but you have been running a lot since then," Roy told her, sliding an arm around her waist to keep her steady. "And training, apparently… I don't remember you being quite that intense," he added. He wanted her on the jet and in his arms, so he could reassure himself she wasn't hurt too bad.

"Of course you don't, boy-o; you think I want people to know? I run alone most of the time! And, well, between Shiva's lessons and Slade, I _am_ better than I used to be..." she replied, leaning against him. 

He nuzzled her hair and helped her on the jet while Cyborg talked to the cop that had finally gotten brave enough to approach. Normally he'd flirt with the woman in uniform, but right now, he had his Dinah to take care of. "Nothing broken?" he asked, even as he scanned her skin for livid bruising. Her coat had taken some damage; the blows that she'd turned aside on the long part of it had been powerful enough to noticeably break the armor stranding in it.

"I don't think so?" she said, thinking over where she hurt, stretching to make sure of a few places before she curled up in his arms and laid her head on his shoulder. "...where **is** Slade?" she asked, realizing again that he wasn't there. 

"Argent took him, 'Wing, and Gar back with Donna to help out," Roy reassured her. "He was down hard, and then you and 'Wing… wow."

"What happened with Nightwing? Is he okay?" Dinah worried, shifting enough to look up at him. 

"He went all… wigged out on the 'bots that were left. Donna-girl helped him, but I'm pretty sure he was going to tear them both apart." Roy was trying hard to not think on the implications, of how Wilson's life ending had pushed both people he loved most toward an intensity that was terrifying.

Dinah shook her head a little, humming thoughtfully. "I'm impressed; I think it's only how long I've dealt with my powers that let me stand up to that mess, it has to have been even harder for him..." 

"How are your eyes?" Roy asked. "I'm still seeing a little purple every time I refocus." He nodded as Cyborg came on the jet to get them moving. "And I'm probably shouting, because my ears sound fuzzy."

"Purply," she agreed wryly, "and some orange, just for added fun. I think I was fighting mostly by sound, at least once the awful noises stopped... And you don't sound like you're shouting to me? But then my throat hurts, so." 

"Okay." He cradled her in close, trying not to poke at the inside of his head and the dull ache of knowing he was always going to be second, trying not to worry about how this was all going to go down when Wilson came back up from death. All he wanted to do was hold her, and give himself the illusion of keeping her safe.

"...Roy, honey," she said after a few moments of staying curled in close, "what's wrong?" 

He blinked at her. "Nothing, Di. You're safe, Robbie's safe… Donna didn't get killed, though I swear I blinked wrong once while she was fighting that thing and I saw my dream instead…" There, she'd fall for that, and let him stew on his own miserable self-esteem, right?

She snorted in disbelief and pressed her jaw tighter against his shoulder, tucking in against him. "Fighting robots like we were, I can see where you would have," she agreed, "but that doesn't explain why you're tense the way you are." 

He laughed that off. "Di… you and my best friend just went off the rails and broke that fight wide open. I'm tense because I didn't get my part in," he teased her, hiding in the familiar humor. He couldn't let her know it hurt, this time, to fall into second.

Dinah looked up at him for a long moment, quiet, before she just stroked her hand along his jaw and down his shoulder, going quiet. 

That… that was easier for him. He held her as tight as he dared, and tucked his head over hers. For a few minutes, at least, she was his.

++++

Getting Slade back to sanity took a little longer than the last death had, but Dinah couldn't really remember how long that horrible one in Columbia had taken because she'd been in shock and falling out of consciousness too.

Now, relocating to the den after showers… and Dinah had opted for the fluffy bathrobe instead of clothing… they could try and break down what the fight meant in relation to their efforts to protect each other.

"Our cosmos bending nemesis is aware we're changing the board," was Garth's offering, after watching the whole recording, including the part with Jason Blood.

Roy, wearing sweats but no shirt, and still baffled that he'd wound up with Di on his couch, nodded. "Gotta be, given that Wilson hadn't actually gone out with us to handle those other two incidents since this all started."

Dick nodded from where he was stretched out along another couch, his head and shoulders across Slade's lap. Gar had claimed his shoulders and upper chest with an ocelot, and he was single-mindedly washing one paw. "Yeah," he agreed. "And obviously doesn't like it. I mean, pulling something of Trigon's over into our world?" 

"And whatever the hell was up with those robots," Gar said, still washing, "because ew." 

"Patterned on his fighting, the intruder," Slade said, playing it back in his head. "Programmed to meet a Titan team… but not one that knows you, Troy. Or that knew Logan and Stone would start with a tag-team maneuver," he added.

"And it looked like you, so… maybe the undead thing is from a Titan's world too," Dinah mused, sitting up to start combing out her hair, keeping her leg against Roy's as she worked on the tangled black mass.

"Brought here to let it take you out of the picture," Stone said, working through the logic.

"To replace me?" Slade asked darkly.

Gar growled, tail lashing, and Dinah's breath caught. "It wouldn't work, not now, not without," //killing me, spelling the Titans to forget, taking him away...// "Why spend that kind of energy when no-one would believe you'd change sides now?" 

"Because there are one or two things that could push me that far," Slade said, going very pale and reaching down for his phone, not caring if he disturbed either male occupying him.

"No…" Gar moaned as he thought it through, taking to the air instead as a bird.

Dinah growled, her eyes narrowing as she realized what Slade was thinking. Dick tightened his abs and sat up enough to get out of Slade's way, concern pulsing through him. 

Slade punched the speed dial for Wintergreen's cell phone, rather than worry with the house phone. He didn't pay attention to the time gap; his old friend would answer.

Or not. "Bad time. We're fine. Please go away now," Rose answered the phone, voice tight and irritable, but not … not sad. She wouldn't hide that, not even from him, so Wintergreen was safe.

"Yes, Rose." He closed his phone and looked thoughtful at the Kid. "Thought she was helping Young Justice?"

Dick shrugged, not knowing. "That was the last I heard... maybe Wintergreen heard something he didn't trust to a phone? Imp'd only take a few minutes to get them back there..."

"True." Slade felt uneasy, wanted to see his teacher, his friend face to face. It was so hard for Wintergreen to travel, but with the man in Africa, Slade couldn't keep him safe. "They're both alive and well. That was definitely Rose. And the rest of you are here…" 

"Do you want me to grab Argent and Damage, go scout the area?" Vic offered. "She's still edgy from not getting much of the fight and being responsible for the one that exploded. Damage could use a trip away."

Slade studied his face for a long moment, then nodded. "Yeah." //He can yell at me later if he feels like it, but...// 

That startled Dick, that Slade would let two of the ones that weren't 'his' go to his property, but... it was Vic taking them. 

"On it." Vic stood to go get his picks for it; Damage was good with Rose and Argent didn't set the kid off like Troia did.

"So now what?" Gar asked as he lit back on Slade's shoulder, transforming to ferret.

"I get my hair tamed, dress, and go poke Fate about the fact someone's still snooping too close," Dinah said. "Boy-o can take me, Slade," she said to avoid any worry on his part; they all knew she had used up all her reserves in that fight.

Slade flicked his eye at her, tensing -- but she was right. She was right, and... that would be all right. Harper would watch her back, while he tried to get the Kid settled. Now, why did Harper smell so surprised? "All right, sister." 

She gave him a smile, hit another snarl in her hair, and growled at it. "Boy-o?" she whined, handing him the detangling comb. She settled on the floor in front of him to let him get her hair fixed. It made Slade smile; she was tired and cranky and falling back on 'take care of me' to make people forget that stunning fight. He knew none present would, but he did love the way she tried.

"For us… Garth or Troy, get an all call check-in running," he told the two other seniors. "And anyone not already near a teammate needs to get there, just to be safe."

"Sure, Di, sure," Roy said, softly amused as he started working on her hair. "Can't even tell you it's your own fault if I pull it, Lian'd rat me out," he said, shaking his head as he gently worked the comb through the bottom of her hair. 

"I've seen you with her hair; you're as good a daddy as mine was," she told him quietly.

"I'll handle that part," Garth said. "And get Fleetfeet here, briefed, and running the rounds of those who don't answer comms."

"Thanks, Garth," Donna said, smiling at him for taking point.

Dick nodded, then glanced from Dinah to Garth, memory of one of those conversations flicking across his mind. "...don't forget to point out _when_ , Garth -- since BC knocked all of us over the head with it." 

"Yeah, don't worry… still betting he gets as pissed over the Rae thing as we did; they made up over after all," Garth said as he walked out to start that procedure. He knew that the fact the whole thing had been so close to Iris's supposed death and the trial would help their buddy, though.

"He's not wrong," Donna agreed to the last. "Slade, is there anything I can do to help you?"

"Don't get dead," he told her with black humor.

Dick managed to turn his shudder into a dark laugh, and Donna snorted indelicately. "Don't worry, one lecture on 'that damned stupid' was plenty, Slade. I'll pass on more." 

Dinah threw a pillow at her lover anyway. "You." She did smile at him, from under her bangs, which made Roy sigh and patiently adjust her head back where it was to finish his task, just like he would for Lian.

"I need a nap," Gar decided, running down Slade's arm to the floor and over to Donna's lap. "Carry me? I'm wounded," he importuned with big Disney eyes on his ferret features.

"What you are is a wretch," she told him, even as she scooped him up gently to head for his room. 

That just left the four of them, and Dick let his eyes shut, just absorbing that Slade and Roy were there. Dinah -- Dinah he wasn't used to, but she loved Slade and Roy fiercely, so she was welcome anywhere he was. 

"Kid, you turned loose pretty hard," Slade said quietly. "Stretch it out now, or later?" He let his pride in Dick show in his tone; it was just family now, much as he still shook his head to include Harper in that.

"Carb and protein load, Dick," Dinah suggested. "Next time you can make yourself eat."

"Take your own advice?" Roy told her.

"There's always something at the JSA to eat," she agreed.

"Yeah, I need to stretch, and to eat," Dick said, though he didn't actually want to do either one. It wasn't 'want', though, it was 'need', and he rolled off the couch to his feet. . 

"Good." Slade hadn't wanted to bully, but he knew what those kind of extremes did to a body. "Harper, try to get her back here before she passes out?"

Roy looked up at him, at that light tone, and it showed that it still startled him to not get sarcasm and growls from Slade. "Sure thing." He was close to done with the last knots she'd gotten. "Want me to braid it down, Di, keep it from frizzing everywhere?"

"..yeah, probably should," Dinah said after a moment to think that over. 

Dick walked over to run one hand over Roy's shoulder before he went to go find food and the gym. "Probably gonna be out before you get back. Come curl up?"" 

Roy looked up at him, nodding once. "I'll come after I check on Lian, maybe spend some time with her. Not near as wiped; you two pretty much took the fight after the strobe and noisemakers," he said in as easy a voice as he could.

//He wants me… well, Slade will be with Di.//

"Course," Dick agreed, nodding as he petted Roy's shoulder again. "We've been kinda monopolizing you, lately. At least _I_ could still see, god bless transitions. No idea what her excuse was." 

"You fight Vertigo often enough, you learn not to trust your eyes anyway," Dinah said cheerfully. "And I learned I could hum to offset some of his power anyway, since he hits the inner ear to cause it."

"Yeah, and a lot of Hal's old problems hit for the eyes or sight," Roy agreed, as that made sense.

Slade snorted. "Found more direct forms worked better against him, but his cockiness always was his biggest weakness," he drawled. "Come on, Kid. Dying makes me starved."

"Amen to that," Roy said about Hal with a wry twist of his mouth, before he watched the two of them leave. 

"You need to hear his Hal story… and Garth should be in here, because it starts with Arthur," Dinah said as Roy's fingers started the braiding. "It's hysterical."

"So one of you two tells us later?" 

"I'll get him to," she promised, letting him finish the braid before standing… and wobbling when she did. He had to steady her, and she leaned into him. "Thanks. Now to go put clothes on… when I'd really rather not, but safer to talk to my cousin there than over comms."

"Probably, yeah," Roy agreed as he kept a hand behind her back so that she could go get dressed and they could get across town to the JSA. 

+++

"What part of 'bad time' is not enough to make Dad calm his butt down?!" Rose asked as she stood on the porch, arms crossed, glaring at the shiny Titan leader.

"He just wants us to check the locale, in case a force was on its way here, because they tried to take your dad out," Vic told her.

"What?!" Rose snapped, tensing despite herself. "What do you mean, 'tried to take your dad out'? I mean, he's -- " 

"He's already back on his feet, kid," Vic said, shaking his head. "But from what we could piece together of the attack we got lured into just to take him down, their plan was only going to work if Wintergreen was dead… probably framed up to look like a hero did it."

"Well that would be absolutely idiotic," Wintergreen said as he came to the door and then out, standing behind Rose, looking as fit as any of the senior heroes in the community… and about as young as the JSA elders looked. "Hello, Stone." He nodded at the more distant Damage and Argent, but kept his focus on Cyborg.

"...old man," Vic said, very warily, "you don't exactly look like yourself. How're we supposed to be sure you're actually you? Especially with doppelgangers and dimensional copies running around, trying to mess with all of us -- " 

"Because I was here." Rose hadn't actually seen Wintergreen's body, but Bart had. And Wintergreen knew the house too well, including the basement. It had to be him. "So shove off."

"My dear girl," Wintergreen said, calming her with his hands on her shoulders. "Stone, I do understand your reluctance to believe, but both Slade and Logan have the tales to prove my side of things." He glanced to the side as Allen zipped into sight; he'd gone to smother the few wildfires the lightning had caused.

"Hey Damage, Argent! Dude, Cyborg, you need buffed; you've got a zillion scratches," Impulse said as he moved up on the porch, unconsciously supporting Rose and Wintergreen by just being himself… and trusting them.

"I know, Imp, we just went through the wringer. Good to see you. I'll get it once I can get Wilson calmed down. And it's not reluctance, old man, also not paranoia when they _are_ out to get us. You say Gar can help straighten this out?" 

"Simply ask him what he knows of guns called Matilda," Wintergreen answered that. "Boy, why don't you get water for each of your friends while we wait? I won't even be offended if they refuse to drink until this is settled."

"Should be settled," Rose grumped, leaning back against her godfather. "We were here."

Bart, helpfully, did not say anything, but instead ran inside to get water. He didn't like this, but he was not going to contradict Rose and say they hadn't actually seen a living Wintergreen prior to the young one after the storm.

Vic took the offered glass, but he didn't bring it to his lips. He accessed his comm, reaching for Gar's. "Hey, Gar. Wake up, need you for a minute. Green Genes, c'mon." 

"Hmm… wha… Vic?" Gar shook himself awake, pushing off his sleep mask. "What's up? Please oh please, he's safe, right?" he asked as he realized where Vic had gone and what a call now might mean.

"..hell if I can tell, man. What do you know about guns named Matilda?" 

"Huh whuzza…." Gar tried to shake the cobwebs out as that question took him off guard. "It's the old man's rifle, keeps it over the mantle, not one of Slade's rifles which is weird." His brain engaged a little more. "You said guns. I've heard stories. Long time ago, even before Wintergreen probably, old as he is, there was this famous hunter explorer dude. He named this impossible gun of his Matilda. Elephant rifle with a range supposedly over 700 feet for accuracy down to a button hole."

"Yeah? Anything other than the crazy accuracy special about it? Or the guy?" Getting answers out of Gar was never easy, especially just after you woke him up. 

"Umm… well, he did favors for the tribes, and so this shaman had blessed him. Legend said that Africa would not let him die, but he's not around now, so that's a crock," Gar said. "He ran around, supposedly, with a group of do-gooding mystery men stopping world wars… until they didn't."

"Yeah? ...okay... Hey. Is there something only you and the old man know? Something he might not have written down?" That.. almost made a kind of sense, if there was some kind of blessing tied to the gun... but he'd rather have Gar's mind on making sure this was the real Wintergreen. 

"Umm… maybe? What's going on, Vic? What happened in Africa?" He wracked his brain for something that he shared solely with Wintergreen, something that wouldn't get in the book the old man was always writing on. "I can't think of anything off the top of my head, but he'd never put the names of his locals down, because that's a security risk. The eldest one's name," and Gar told Vic what it was.

"The old man looks about forty years younger," Vic answered. "Rose and Imp both seem to think it's him, but I saw the damn double. Call me a little paranoid right now. Hang on a sec." He refocused on Wintergreen, tipping his head to the side a little. "What's the name of your eldest local contact?" 

Wintergreen half-smiled. "I thought it would be a question about which pajamas he was wearing the night Slade scared half a year off his life," the not-so-old man said before answering the question. 

"Younger, but… that's kind of neat, if he's not like evil or something," Gar told his best friend.

"Yeah, and he answered the question right. Okay. Doesn't seem evil, Rose and Imp are vouching for him, and he got that right. ...Good enough for now. Get some more sleep, we'll be back soon. Once we make sure there's nothing hiding around here to mess with him or the place." 

He hated this, he wasn't sure he believed it yet, but... he had to take a chance somewhere. Besides, if this wasn't the real Wintergreen, Wilson would know. And he almost pitied this one in that case. Almost. 

"Alright… and I won't say a word. Not that he's probably up now." Gar found his sleep mask and got comfy again for sleeping.

Wintergreen waited for the senior Titan to stop talking to his comm, then tipped his head ever so slightly to the side, with 'well, I told you so' all over his face. Cyborg had seen it before… on Slade, on Joey… and knew this man was insanely good if he was a copy. "So, what is the plan now? I wouldn't mind a trip back into the States now that I won't expire on some poor stewardess."

"...sounds like a plan, actually," Vic agreed. "I'm really not sure we've seen the end of the trouble hunting Wilson. What do you need to grab out of here, what is he maybe going to need that he hasn't got? Argent, Damage, go check around while we work some logistics." 

"Got it, Chief," Damage called to him, leaving with Argent to do it.

Wintergreen considered, then looked at Bart. "Listen to me, so you can do the shut down for the house as soon as I have my belongings and Slade's; it will save us time." There wasn't anything in the security that Bart would have to touch; Wintergreen would remote key that once they were in the air. He gave the full process for water and power, and then went down to the armory for what he thought would be needed.

Rose glared at Cyborg for good measure once Wintergreen was moving. "Told you." She hated the fact she'd been doubted, even as part of her mind knew he'd had to. She just… wasn't very rational where her only family member she loved was concerned. Cyborg just met her gaze evenly; he had to protect his own.

++++

"...I think I've got him," Robin said, not looking up from his computer, a sharp edge of a smile on his lips. "It took a -- "

"Whoa, whoa," Superboy said, waving one hand, "you know nobody but Wonder Girl's gonna understand you anyway, so why don't you just point us the right direction? _Before_ Imp gets bored?" 

Robin snorted as he looked up, but he shrugged one shoulder, too. "All right, all right. So Luthor's -- " 

"Isn't he supposed to be dead?" Secret shook her head, still confused by that part. 

Robin counted to ten in a pair of languages -- quickly -- before answering. "Until all of this happened, we all thought so. It now looks like he leaned on his alliances with Intergang to make it appear he had died."

"So he could set things up," Wonder Girl said. "Or wait, that's the other Luthor in Imp's dream doing the setting up. Or not? I'm confused again."

"They're both bad, we find one, put them down, keep moving," Rose said to cut to the chase. Arrowette and Empress both gave her a thankful smile for it. Working with Rose, especially after this last trip to Africa, had given them a sharp counter to Wander Girl's skepticism.

Wonder Girl gave her a moment's sharp look, but she nodded and settled down, too. "So... he's still, like, wanted for treason, right? Means we can go in and get him without too much trouble, right?" 

"We still hold to our principles," Arrowette reminded, jaw a little tight because of those in the room, she'd been the one to almost step over the line.

"Of course, but it means if we can pin him down, we can yell for police and CBI and that kind of thing," Superboy came back to her smoothly. "Without getting the lecture, because he's on the most wanted list if he's alive."

"That's what I meant," Wonder Girl said, glancing at Arrowette for a second, shrugging. "I remember times trying to go after him has ended real bad for the heroes, because he's worse than a snake. At least that won't happen this time. Thanks, SB." 

"No prob."

"We still need to figure out how much he has in the way of resources, men, et cetera," Robin said. "Impulse…"

"I can do it." He straightened up and looked almost tall. "He's got access to Brainiac tech, but I think I can still out-race his sensors. 'Cause, seriously, he's gotta be less entrenched than he'd normally be, since he's on the run, hiding, lying low."

Secret looked at him worriedly, but Rose flashed him a steady, pleased smile. She was sure he could do it, and he was really the only one of them that could. 

Robin nodded, glancing over Impulse with only a trace of worry. He could do it, he was sure. And he'd even held still long enough to check what needed to be done -- unlike some other times in their history. "See you when you get back, Imp." 

Rose grabbed him before he shot off, kissing him hard. "Now you can," she told him softly, savoring the whispers of her power assuring her that she'd touch him again. She didn't like being a pre-cog, but as they unraveled this mess piece by piece, she was learning to direct it a little more.

+++++

Impulse streaked back in, looking ashen as he thumped onto the loveseat with his girlfriend. "Umm, we have problems." 

"Yeah, what's new?" Superboy quipped, but he leaned in to listen.

Impulse looked at Robin, instead, and shook his head. "Joker's not holed up in Qatar or dead or whatever the latest theory is. He's with Luthor, and they've got a lot of mooks."

Robin turned a little paler at that, his fingers flexing in the folds of his cape. "That's.... Not good. I know we normally don't work with the senior team, all, but I want Nightwing if we're going to have to deal with Joker _and_ Luthor. Mooks aren't really a big deal, we can tangle them up, but... those two together come up with nasty things. And too many of us are vulnerable to Joker-gas, too." 

"This is going to get complicated," Rose muttered. She did not trust her father to behave and not try for killing shots on either. Luthor was a traitor, and Wintergreen had always said Slade was loyal to America. She also suspected the Joker had a pretty high price on his head in numerous places.

"We have to try and take precautions anyway," Wonder Girl said, nodding. "Because if we do get this Luthor off the stage, more witnesses to his capture means less credibility for the other to assume his place, right?"

"Good thinking," Secret agreed.

Robin nodded, and picked up his comm to start convincing Nightwing to meet them with a team. He wound up walking away from his team to do it, because Nightwing had... opinions... about what he'd been doing and his choice of targets, especially with Joker along. 

++++

Dinah hadn't much left from the Tower, other than to run necessary missions as they were called to her by either Beetle or Manhunter. Right now, she was glad that she hadn't been away, because Nightwing's face looked… haunted? Something. Whatever he had for his team, she was going to try and weasel a spot on their jet, just to lend that extra bit of support.

"Hey BC," he said as he saw her, but his voice was a little flat, more than just 'mission-voice'. Something was definitely wrong. 

"Hey, N. Heard the call for a team, you want another hand?" 

He stopped, staring at her for a long moment, before he nodded, once. "Yeah.... I'll take the help. Need _someone_ to help me keep Slade from just taking the quick way on this one..." He looked... strangely regretful. Almost like he didn't want to do that? That made no sense. 

"You can count on me for that," Dinah promised him. "I take it this is bad and ugly?" She fell in step with him, trying to puzzle out what could push Dick over the edge into _this_ given all the other bad things the Titans had stopped.

"Robin tracked down Luthor -- or at least one of them," he answered, his voice still flat-edged. "He's not alone, not even just with Hope and Mercy. ...Joker's with him." 

Canary flinched at that. She… wanted that bastard dead several times over. The Joker was the biggest threat to Gotham and had been for so long. He was, in her opinion, Bruce's biggest sin, by never having found a way to end the man's terror rampage. Keeping Slade in check over either man was going to be difficult, especially with her own thoughts on the matter.

"You steer clear, Nightwing, if you can, of the Joker. He's not used to me, and that might just work in our favor this time," she said softly. "Yes, I've been studying up. I love O and R too much to not be prepared against him."

He looked at her for a long moment, then nodded. "All right. I -- yeah. Thanks, BC. Just... nah, I don't need to say 'be careful', you know. C'mon, we'll be late to the jet." 

She nodded and matched his pace, despite his longer legs, sliding into the jet to the mild surprise of her lover. He arched an eyebrow, and she shook her head, joining him. The Joker… couldn't be worse than his brainwashed minions at the Slab, right? She'd survived that. 

For the first time in a long time, she wished she still had the long armored costume Oracle had given her when she first joined the team. Too much skin exposed to the toxins and acids, but she would do anything to keep the children safe. No matter that they were all experienced, capable adults, Dinah felt a responsibility toward them.

Nightwing settled against Arsenal's seat, letting Cyborg take the stick, while he ran down the trouble in front of them. 

Dinah tightened her hand on Slade's wrist at the mention of the Joker, her face and posture conveying all that needed to be said. The Joker was Gotham's trouble, and she was Gotham's daughter. That would be her fight, not his. She knew, loathe as he was to concede it, her choice would be respected so long as she held the fight.

**Author's Note:**

> Note on Toon!Slade: He is taken from after the Raven season, and thus is technically an undead creature. The use of 'golem' is intended with respect. As ever, I tend to place Teen Titans Animated Series in line with TimmVerse, and the Black Canary of Justice League Unlimited is both young and new to her hero duties. That would make an older, more experienced one not fall within Slade's comprehensive files.


End file.
